No, all you need is an spfile for the database; you can copy that from the source database server. Startup the instance nomount and get RMAN to do the rest. David Fitzjarrell Principal author, "Oracle Exadata Survival Guide" On Thursday, October 16, 2014 11:12 AM, "Zelli, Brian" <Brian.Zelli@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: ok, I have been backing up my database using rman. No catalog, no archivelogmode. I now have a separate server with which to test a restore. I loaded the oracle software. Do I have to create a dummy database first so that I can mount it in order to start the restore? I see things that reference rman commands in the book I am using. Do I have to create anything first using rman on this new server? I’m not quite sure what to start with. I have the controlfile, and other files. Just don’t know how to recover/restore…….. Brian This email message may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient(s), or the employee or agent responsible for the delivery of this message to the intended recipient(s), you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of this email message is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete this email message from your computer. Thank you.